Dutch central bank fines bunq over AML shortcomings

Bunq has appealed the fine, which was issued by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) following a review covering January 2021 to May 2022.

The review into how bunq complies with the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft) found that the neobank was “deficient in following up on its transaction monitoring alerts”.

As a result, signals of possible financial crime were not investigated in sufficient depth, if at all. Bunq was also unable to demonstrate why transactions with similar characteristics were reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit in one case and not in the other, says DNB.

The fine has been imposed because of the severity of non-compliance, says the central bank. Several examinations were carried out between 2018 and 2023, finding problems with Wwft compliance leading to enforcement action, including a fine.

Yet, says DNB, “this has not resulted in sustained compliance” and sufficient progress, prompting the latest “punitive fine”.

A bunq spokesperson says: “”At bunq, we take our role as gatekeeper very seriously. We use the most advanced technology and continuously strengthen our systems – including in response to these 4 cases from 2021-2022. That being said, we don’t agree with DNB’s decision and have formally objected.”

Earlier this year, Dutch finance minister Eelco Heinen wrote to parliament questioning the country’s current approach to anti-money laundering and proposing a new risk-based plan.